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EMD F59PHI
The EMD F59PHI is a quasi-high speed locomotive produced by Electro-Motive Division (EMD) from 1994 to 2001. It features an isolated cab, lightweight body, and a streamlined shape, features that were absent on the original commuter F59PH. First built for the California Department of Transportation, the F59PHI has seen service in all four corners of America, (Mostly seen in California) as well as in the Pacific Northwest/Montreal area in Canada. History In 1990, the State of California passed a bill that would result in massive funding for the state transportation systems. It also resulted in a separate, state funded system of regional Amtrak routes. CDoT wanted a locomotive that was both reliable and attractive. They approached EMD, who responded with the lightweight, high-speed F59PHI locomotive. Soon after, more orders arrived. Amtrak ordered 21 of these locomotives for their Pacific Sufliner service (separate from Amtrak California), and the North Carolina Department of Transportation also selected it as their primary motive power. West Coast Express (operated by TransLink) in Metro Vancouver, also selected it for starting up its service. Montreal's Réseau de transport métropolitain (also known as Exo) bought 11 of these locomoties to go with their Bombardier BiLevel coaches, which were just arriving. The F59PHI was produced until 2001. It was taken off of EMD's lineup because it wasn't able to meet the EPA Tier 1 regulations. Some of Amtrak California's F59PHI's have been rebuilt by EMD, these are ECO repowers. Sound Transit's 2015 budget outlines plans to overhaul seven F59's and four of those will be overhauled to Tier 3 standards. Amtrak plans to retire all F59PHI locomotives in Surfline and Cascades service in August 2018 in favor of the Siemens Charger. This won't be the end of their careers, though, as they will be cascaded to Metra in Chicago. The locomotives owned by California will remain in Capitol Corridor and San Joaquins service until at least 2023, while North Carolina has made no announcement regarding any plans to replace their own fleet. Railfans generally agree that the horns on the F59PHIs are among the worst on the Amtrak system. This is primarily due to the horn being placed directly behind the exhaust stack, causing the horn's sound to become distorted by the exhaust, as well as fouled and dirtied by the exhaust. The horns were placed in this location after engineers on F40PH locomotives complained of sound vibrations from the roof-mounted horns. It is hoped that, when the Surfline and Cascades locomotives enter Metra service, they will receive better-sounding horns. All F59PHIs on the Amtrak system were retired during 2019. Quantity *Metrolink: 873-887 (14 locomotives) *Coaster: 3001, 3002 (2 locomotives) *Trinity Rail Express: 569-570 (2 locomotives) *Sounder: 901-911 (11 locomotives) *RTM/Exo: 1320-1330 (11 locomotives) *Amtrak: 0 *North Carolina Department of Transportation: 1755, 1797 (2 locomotives) *Caltrans (California DoT): 2001-2015 (14 locomotives) *West Coast Express: 901-905 (5 locomotives) *Metra: 73-93 (20 locomotives) Differences between the F59PHI and the original F59PH The differences between these two locomotives are only skin-deep. Most features introduced on the F59PH, like the separate HEP genset, were carried over to the F59PHI. However, differences include: *A lighter, streamlined body (made of fibreglass and composite material) *An increase in horsepower (12V710G3C-EC engine compared to the F59PH's 12V710G3A) **3200hp vs 3000hp *Isolated cab (hence the "I" in its designation) *Increased speed (max speed: 110mph) See Also *Gallery Category:Diesel Locomotives Category:EMD locomotives Category:Amtrak locomotives Category:Four-axled diesel locomotives Category:Passenger Locomotives Category:Higher-speed rail Category:EMD ECO repower Category:American Locomotives Category:DC Traction Locomotives Category:EPA Tier 0 Category:EPA Tier 2 Category:Bo-Bo Category:Metra locomotives Category:Built in 1994 Category:METROLINK LOCOMOTIVES